Brazil is experiencing a dengue emergency, portending a health crisis for the Americas

Brazil is experiencing a huge outbreak of dengue fever, a sometimes deadly disease spread by mosquitoes, and public health experts say it is a harbinger of a coming surge cases in the Americas, including Puerto Rico.

Brazilian Health Ministry warns it expects more than 4.2 million cases this year, surpassing the 4.1 million cases recorded by the Pan American Health Organization for all of the country's 42 countries. region last year.

Brazil expected a bad dengue year - the number of virus cases usually rises and falls over a cycle of about four years - but experts say a number of factors, including El Niño and climate change, have significantly amplified the problem this year.

“Record heat in the country and above-average rainfall since last year. , even before summer, increased the number of mosquito breeding sites in Brazil, even in regions where there were few cases of disease," said Brazilian Health Minister Nísia Trindade.

The number of dengue cases has already soared in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in recent months, during the southern hemisphere summer, and the virus will move across continents as the seasons change.

“When we observe waves in one country, we usually observe waves in other countries, it is how interconnected we are,” said Dr. Albert Ko, a dengue expert in Brazil and professor of public health at Yale University.

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